Hometown engineer Chad Gilbert will serve as the next Mayor of Cookeville after securing the most votes in the City Council race.
Chad Gilbert said the opportunity to lead his own community follows a campaign focused on his previous four years of service to the city. Gilbert said the election results were the culmination of significant effort from a field of several candidates.
“It feels great. It feels great. A lot went into it, a lot of work, a lot of good candidates and just to be mayor of your hometown, there’s not much better you can think about,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert said his primary focus during the campaign was winning a seat on the council and allowing the voters to determine the leadership outcome. Gilbert said his goal for the next four years is to continue the momentum established during his first term.
“It was about winning the City Council race and then, you know, just let let voters decide the rest and what’s our our past four years of service have just been what’s been about what’s best for Cookeville and trying to get that word out as we campaigned for another four years so we could keep it going,” Gilbert said. “And it’s just exciting to be in this spot.”
Gilbert said the role of mayor involves following the framework and tone established by previous city leaders. Gilbert said he intends to look toward those past examples as he prepares to take over the position.
“Oh, there’s there’s several parts to it. Past mayors have done such a good job setting the framework, setting the tone, setting the pace for that and just excited about the baton being passed and have a lot to live up to,” Gilbert said. “There’s there’s plenty to look back on for good examples and I’m excited to be the next in line.”
Gilbert said his professional background as an engineer aligns with the current needs of the city regarding growth and infrastructure. Gilbert said the upcoming construction projects on the horizon fall directly within his area of expertise.
“I yeah, there’s probably some joke in there to be said there’s there’s never a wrong place to stick an engineer, but it is, we’re we’re excited about the growth that we’re seeing,” Gilbert said. “And yes, sir, those those things that that are on the horizon, the construction that we will be dealing with, they they do speak to my wheelhouse.”
Gilbert said maintaining a sense of camaraderie among the council members is vital for the city to be productive. Gilbert said that while the group may not always agree on every issue, having aligned interests for the benefit of Cookeville allows the council to accomplish its goals.
“Extremely important. The experience we’ve had as a group, I could not have drawn up a better experience than what we’ve had and and just look forward to to doing the same thing for the next four years,” Gilbert said. “We’ve gotten a lot done and really excited about getting a lot more done. And that that starts when you when you get along as a group. You may not always agree, but when you really all have your interest aligned for what with what’s best for Cookeville, you can make a lot of good stuff happen.”
